Youth charged with writing seditious words in men’s toilet admits damaging property, denies sedition; court told wording appeared in Tong Ying-kit case
青年被控男廁寫煽動字句 認損壞財產否認煽動 庭上指涉案字眼曾見於「唐英傑案」
An 18-year-old youth was accused of writing seditious words on three occasions in a men’s washroom at China Hong Kong City in Tsim Sha Tsui in July this year. On Monday (15th), at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, he pleaded guilty to three counts of “destroying or damaging property” and not guilty to one count of “doing one or more acts with seditious intention”. Chief Magistrate So Wai-tak adjourned the case to 23 February next year for a pre-trial review. The defendant may remain on bail under the existing conditions. The magistrate directed the defence to decide as soon as possible whether it would dispute the wording involved. The prosecution and defence must decide before the pre-trial review whether to call expert witnesses, while the prosecution must first deal with the agreed facts for charges other than the sedition charge. The court was told that the wording had previously appeared in the Tong Ying-kit case. The defence also said it would challenge at trial the voluntariness of the cautioned statement and the video-recorded interview, among other matters.
18 歲青年被指今年 7 月，三度於尖沙咀中港城男洗手間內寫上煽動字句。他周一（15 日）在西九龍裁判法院承認 3 項「摧毀或損壞財產」罪，並否認一項「出於煽動意圖作出一項或多項具煽動意圖的作為」罪。 總裁判官蘇惠德將案件押後到明年 2 月 23 日作審前覆核，被告可以原有條件保釋。官要求辯方盡早決定會否爭議涉案字眼，而控辯雙方需在審前覆核之前，決定會否就此傳召專家證人，控方則要先處理除「煽動」罪以外的同意案情。庭上透露，相關字眼曾出現在「唐英傑」案。另外辯方指，審訊時會爭議警誡口供、錄影會面的自願性等。